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sallynilly
USA
6 Posts |
 Posted - 10/19/2009 : 9:14:45 PM
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My husband purchased this for me as a Christmas gift a couple of years ago. It was an upgrade to the basic stand mixer - what they call the Artisan now. I don't remember what it used to be called. I used it all the time since the late 80's. It beared many battle scars from countless loaves of bread, cakes, mashed potatoes, ground meats etc. I gave it to a freind at work when I upgraded.
After using my new one with about the same frequency I was grinding some hamburger and heard a loud clunk and it was obvious something was wrong.
Here is my first mistake. The strips of beef were too frozen - I had done this before with my old unit which seems to have handled it well over many years. The speed I was using was too slow as I found out later. It needs to be between 4-6. I had it set on 2.
Partially frozen means partially frozen.
My unit is obviously out of warranty so I sent it off to the local certifed repair place and received my quote to fix it.
$218.00, ouch
The tech would did the work told me the entire PLASTIC gears and housing were completly stripped and this happened over the course of my my using it and not this one time as I suspected with meat that was too hard. When I told him I had an old model with no problems he said,
"the old ones were made much better than the new ones, we replace the plastic parts with cast iron so you shouldn't have any problems".
Not what I wanted to hear - plastic parts for a mixer that runs 525 watts.
I love my KA mixer, but if this one ever goes out again, I will buy a commercial Hobart or other commercial grade mixer.
Not all of us buy a KA to look pretty on our kitchen counter and do nothing else. |
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KitchenAidQuinn
1065 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2009 : 7:12:55 PM
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Sorry to hear about your mixer, sally. The gears are all metal in the Pro 600; but in some older units the gear box COVER is plastic. However, KitchenAid made the decision to change to an all metal gear box several years ago, not because of problems with the plastic transmission cover, but because KitchenAid is always looking for ways to try new materials and update all of our appliances, and this change was an engineering decision. The motor can get strained and parts can break if proper use and care instructions are not followed as per the manuals of the mixer and all attachments, but even under normal use, on occasion, parts can fail which are beyond our control. It is just the nature of manufacturing. Sometimes things break down, even on very well built appliances of all types and brands. But these are isolated incidents, and not the norm.
Hopefully the repair solved the problem, and you can continue to use it without any problems.
KitchenAid Quinn |
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cooknupastorm
USA
2055 Posts |
Posted - 10/20/2009 : 8:22:25 PM
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| I hope that solved your problem, sallynilly, and you can go back to using your mixer for years to come!!! |
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mixfinder
1512 Posts |
Posted - 10/21/2009 : 6:18:36 PM
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| The 600's are like monster trucks and the torque of the motor is so much greater it out powers the gears. Your old Artisan or Ultra simply slowed and said ouch, ouch, ouch, easing strain on the gears. These newer hogs go like wild men and it becomes so important to learn the voice of your mixer. It will clearly tell you what is happy and what is protest. Newer models have an overload thermal fuse that stops the machine under stress and lets it restart when the obstruction is gone and the motor is cooled. This ain't your mother's KitchenAid so of course someone would say, it not built like the old ones. |
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Csaba
6 Posts |
Posted - 10/31/2009 : 1:51:10 PM
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Here's another horror story just in time for halloween. I was grinding some turkey necks for my dogs on my 600 when all of sudden the grinder stopped and I heard this clunking noise. I knew I'd wiped out few gears in the unit. Took the mixer apart and two gears, the output and and the one that in mesh with it were gone as well as the plastic gearbox cover. Long story short the parts are on the way for a healthy $50.
Csaba |
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vernonbishop12
USA
1886 Posts |
Posted - 11/02/2009 : 3:33:11 PM
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I'm sorry to hear about your mixer, Csaba!!!   
Welcome to the forum, anyway, and I hope we can help!! 
Vernon
KSM50HDPBK Heavy Duty Plus, Imperial Black, Burnished Beater, Dough Hook; KFP715 7 cup Food Processor, Onyx Black; KSC700 7 qt slow cooker, Onyx Black...
K. Ross Toole hard at work!! 
for the way its made!
from a lifelong true KitchenAid lover  
vernonbishop12 |
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mixedupjo
USA
297 Posts |
Posted - 11/03/2009 : 4:03:49 PM
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Csaba, you were grinding turkey necks? Without the bones, I HOPE?
I can't put bones in my garbage disposal. I sure wouldn't grind 'em up in my FGA. Please clarify? |
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Csaba
6 Posts |
Posted - 11/11/2009 : 9:34:04 PM
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Yeah, I did grind it with bones. And she did handle it for a while pretty good. Anyways she's all fixed up now and I just made some sausage today. Works like new but I got a dedicated meat grinder to make my dogs food.
Csaba |
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KitchenAidQuinn
1065 Posts |
Posted - 11/12/2009 : 3:50:10 PM
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Bones are a big no-no in the FGA  But glad to hear that you were able to get your mixer fixed!
KitchenAid Quinn |
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Learn from my damaged KA 600 and food grinder
